Hedgehogs!

On Wednesday, 23rd October at 7pm – you are invited to Drimpton Village Hall to view a slideshow and talk all about hedgehogs!
Admission is FREE and refreshments will be available.
This is being brought to you by the Dorset Mammal Group.

Although reported to be in decline, Broadwindsor has regular sightings of hedgehogs and many welcome them into their gardens…

3 hedgehogs can be seen in the picture above – regular visitors to Fullers in Broadwindsor – and one merrily exploring & munching in the two 20 second videos below (no audio). Thank you to Sheila Deane for the images.

As well as the talk on 23rd October, you can expand your knowledge of our native hedgehogs at:

The Dorset Wildlife Trust – Click HERE.
The Woodland Trust – Click HERE.
The British Hedgehog Preservation Society – Click HERE.

Hedgehogs are protected in the UK under the Wildlife and Countryside Act, 1981.
Priority Species under the UK Post-2010 Biodiversity Framework.
IUCN Red List for British Mammals – vulnerable to extinction. – Click HERE.

#Broadwindsor #Burstock #Blackdown #Drimpton #Hursey #Kittwhistle #Seaborough #Village #Community #WestDorset #DorsetWildlifeTrust #Hedgehogs #Garden #Community #DorsetMammalGroup #DorsetWildlifeTrust #WoodlandTrust #Wildlife #HelpHedgehogs #BeKind #BeSafe #StaySafe

Local Hedgehog Numbers Increasing

These delightful baby hedgehogs were filmed earlier today by village resident, Dave Shaw– just before he started his lawnmower up. Dave and his wife Ann have named them John, Paul, George and Ringo 🙂

Considered a gardener’s best friend, hedgehogs will happily hoover up slugs roaming in vegetable beds. Famously covered in spines, hedgehogs like to eat all sorts of bugs, but especially slugs and crunchy beetles. They are most active at night and hibernate over winter from around November to April, usually choosing to nest in piles of leaves or logs.

Locally, several hedgehog sightings have been reported at both sides of Fullers, in Redlands Lane and by the White Lion. More than one Fullers resident have even made accommodation for their regular nocturnal visitors.

You can expand your knowledge of our native hedgehogs at:

The Dorset Wildlife Trust – Click HERE.
The Woodland Trust – Click HERE.
The British Hedhehog Preservation Society – Click HERE.
On Saturday 30th October, the Dorset Mammal Group are holding a talk and slideshow on hedgehogs at the Public Hall (Skyrm room) in Beaminster.
Free admission and refreshments are available.

Hedgehogs are protected in the UK under the Wildlife and Countryside Act, 1981. Priority Species under the UK Post-2010 Biodiversity Framework.
IUCN Red List for British Mammals – vulnerable to extinction.

#Broadwindsor.#WestDorset,#DorsetWildlifeTrust,#Hedgehogs,#Garden,#Community,#DorsetWildlifeTrust,#WoodlandTrust,#Wildlife,#SocialDistancing,#BeKind,#BeSafe,#StaySafe

Mapperton House Plant Fair – Sunday, 19th September

The Autumn Plant Fair at Mapperton has been an outstanding event for many years, and is one of the largest and most popular specialist plant fairs in Dorset. A great day out for plant lovers in the area with a a large number of stalls of specialist plantsmen from all over the region.
Open at 10am until 4pm, fill your garden with late season herbaceous perennials and grasses, and bulbs for autumn planting are always popular. There are bound to be Salvias in flower and more unusual pitcher plants catching end of summer flies. Also available will be metal plant supports and structures, plus a range of Acers and shrubs. as well a trip for those who want a ‘Gardeners Day Out’ in fantastic surroundings. Access to their gardens (winner of the Garden of the Year 2020 Historic Houses award) is included in the entry price. Please note – Mapperton House will be closed on the day.

Tickets are now available – Click HERE
Admission is £5 per person,
Free tickets available for under 5’s.
Your ticket includes FREE entry to the award-winning gardens.
The Coach House café will be open serving hot drinks and snacks.

All proceeds go to Save The Children.

#Broadwindsor,#Burstock,#Blackdown,#Drimpton,#Hursey,#Kittwhistle,#Seaborough,#Dorset,#WestDorset,#Somerset,#Beaminster,#Dorset,#Mapperton,#AnnualPlantFair,#SaveTheChildren,#Houseplants,#Garden,#LazySundayAfternoon,#BeKind,#BeSafe,#StaySafe

Have You Seen Any Hedgehogs?

This chap was photographed in a back garden at Fullers, Broadwindsor last week and another Fullers resident reported observing a family of hedgehogs walking across his garden 🙂 This is marvellous news as hedgehog numbers have fallen by 30% in just over 10 years.

The Dorset Wildlife Trust are conducting another survey (Previous survey was Nov 2020). On submission of your answers they will email you a 16-page Guide to Helping Hedgehogs to say thank you.
*If you completed their hedgehog survey in 2020, they’d love to hear from you again with your 2021 sightings.

Click HERE to take the survey.

#Broadwindsor.#WestDorset,#DorsetWildlifeTrust,#Hedgehogs,#Garden,#Community,#DorsetWildlifeTrust,#Wildlife,#BeKind,#SocialDistancing,#BeSafe,#StaySafe

Little Groves Nursery Closed, Groves Remain Open

A statement from Becky and the rest of her team at Little Groves:

“We are privileged to be able to be able to remain open during the January 2021 lockdown.

Garden centres have been classed as an essential shop, and this is not a responsibility we have taken lightly. Our aim is to provide the safest possible shopping environment for our wonderful customers and fabulous team during this difficult time. January is a quiet time in the garden centre anyway so there will always be plenty of space for you to shop safely.

Please ensure that you follow our guidelines when visiting:

We ask that you sanitise your hands before entering and that you wear a face covering at all times.

Please keep your distance from us and each other.

Please only handle goods you intend to buy.

Please pay by debit/credit card and where possible use the contactless facility. There is a £45 limit for cards and a £500 limit for iPhone/Android pay.

Please step back from the tills to give our till operators the distance to be able to scan your items safely.

January and February are great months to take stock and plan your garden for the season ahead. We have seed potatoes, onion sets, shallots and all of the vegetable seeds you need for you to grow your own food this year.

We also offer an extensive range of pet and farm food, wild bird food as well as household fuel such as logs and coal.

We understand that some might not be comfortable visiting so please remember that we also offer a home delivery and click and collect service. You can order items online or by telephone: 01308 422654 and both of these can be completely contact free.

Groves Nurseries in Bridport will be open:

8am until 5pm Monday until Saturday
10am until 4pm Sunday.

Little Groves is closed for its annual winter break and will reopen on the 1st February.

Ivy House & The Cabin are closed until the lifting of COVID restrictions allow us to reopen.

Stay safe and look after each other.” – Charlie, Becky, Clive, Di and the whole of the Groves Team xxx“

#Broadwindsor,#Burstock,#Blackdown,#Hursey,#Kittwhistle,#Seaborough,#Drimpton,#Dorset,#LittleGrovesNursery,#Covid19,#January2021,#Winter,#Garden,#TimeOut,#BeSafe,#StaySafe

A Reminder About Helping Hedgehogs

Now the hedgehog has been listed as vulnerable to extinction in the UK, the British Hedgehog Preservation Society are calling on the Government to move hedgehogs to schedule 5 of the Wildlife & Countryside Act 1981 to allow them greater protection. At the time of publishing, they have just over 60,000 signatures of their 100,000 target. (At 100,000 signatures, this petition will be considered for debate in Parliament).

You can add your name to the petition HERE.

Signs That A Hedgehog Needs Help:

#Broadwindsor.#WestDorset,#BritishHedgehogPreservationSociety,#Petition,#DorsetWildlifeTrust,#Hedgehogs,#Garden,#Community,#Wildlife,#BeKind,#SocialDistancing,#StaySafe

Dorset Hedgehog Survey

There were sightings of a Hedgehog at the top of Fullers last week. Have you seen one?

The Dorset Wildlife Trust report that Hedgehog numbers have fallen by 30% in just over 10 years. Please help them understand more about Dorset’s hedgehogs by completing their two minute survey. Click HERE.

On submission of the survey they will email you a 16-page Guide to Helping Hedgehogs to say thank you, so that you can help hedgehogs in your garden and local community.

#Broadwindsor.#WestDorset,#DorsetWildlifeTrust,#Hedgehogs,#Garden,#Community,#Wildlife,#BeKind,#SocialDistancing,#StaySafe

A Note For Our Allotment Tenants & Gardeners

Keep digging! You’ll never know what you’ll find!
An 82-year-old man in a small town in Germany, while working on his garden, stumbled upon a curious crop that looked different from the others. Upon giving it a closer look, he noticed a shiny band embedded and around one of his carrots. His greatest surprise was that this was the man’s lost wedding ring which had been missing for three years.
Three years ago, he & his wife were celebrating their golden wedding anniversary and he noticed his wedding band missing later that day. He couldn’t remember where he’d lost it and despite searching everywhere and over time, he lost hope. His wife comforted him, was full of hope and reassured him it would ‘turn up eventually’. Which indeed it did! The ring had probably slipped off his finger while he was working in the garden that day. It had got buried in the ground until it finally resurfaced by being caught by a sprouting carrot.
Sadly, the man’s wife had died six months earlier – but he has the memory of her closer in retrieving his wedding band. 🙂

#StaySafe #SocialDistancing #Allotment #Garden #Carrots #KeepDigging